Stolen Moments
by Natureboy3
Summary: Leafpool gave up everything for Crowfeather. Her clans, friends, everything she had ever known. Too late did she find out what Crowfeather's love really meant. Now a two-shot. Please R/R!
1. Memories

**A.N.:Hey everybody! Here's a one-shot! This came to me earlier today. I read another story similar to this, but I can't remember the name of the author. No flames, but reviews are awesome! My apologies if it's a little short. **

A female tabby with a white chest and paws dropped onto a nest of prickly gorse. She felt as if her paws would drop from their body. Normally, Leafpool would never dream of sleeping on such a horrible bed. The she-cat would have a soft, comfortable moss nest in ThunderClan's medicine den. By this time the herbs would have sorted, any patients resting to get over ailments, and Leafpool could enjoy some fresh-kill.

Maybe a juicy mouse or thrush. A rabbit if she was lucky. But not anymore. Her problem started all those moons ago, when she began meeting him. Leafpool had started meeting Crowfeather, the dark gray WindClan warrior, in secret. It was almost fun, sneaking around. She snuck away when nobody was looking, after everybody was asleep, when you were leaving Moonpool, or during the confusion when a gathering was breaking up.

All the risk was taken for a few stolen moments, pressed against the WindClan tom's side, whispering sweet nothings to each other. Besides the feline beside you, you were completely alone. There were no peeping eyes, no gossip, no accusing voices that what you were doing was wrong in every way. The only witnesses were the stars above, the warm evening breeze, maybe the occasional sunset. It was just...pure bliss. Leafpool let out a sigh and turned over, trying to get comfortable on the gorse bed.

Her thin body ached and protested, the scratches and bruises beneath her matted fur casing much pain, especially the fresh ones. Leafpool acquired new wounds everyday, but today was particularly bad. Forgetting sleep, Leafpool sat up and limped a few tail-lengths away from her make shift bedding to stare up at the stars.

Any other night they would have been magnificent, but not tonight. The stars looked cold and far away, making Leafpool feel isolated and alone. When the medicine cat first found out she was pregnant with Crowfeather's kits, she and her mate were overjoyed. She kept her secret well enough, if anyone had suspicions, they didn't say anything.

Leafpool hid her secret, meeting with Crowfeather every few days. The problem was, sneaking away to meet up with Crowfeather at night was tiring all by itself. Mix that with pregnancy, forget it. After a few days of no sleep, Leafpool had almost no coordination for the simplest of tasks. Her mentor, Cinderpelt, was no fool. She recognized something was up.

After watching Leafpool make yet another clumsy mistake, Cinderpelt confronted her apprentice about it. Let's just say they argued. Loudly. Moving as fast as her swollen stomach would allow, Leafpool ran out of camp to the WindClan border where she found Crowfeather hunting alone. Pressing against the tom's side, she quickly told him about what had happened. That's when Cinderpelt had shown up.

* * *

"_Leafpool, what's wrong with you?" Cinderpelt snarled. _

"_I love Crowfeather! I'm going to father his kits, and I'll keep seeing him as much as I please!" Leafpool retorted. A wild look came to Cinderpelt's eyes. _

"_Your first duty is to your clan! Your going to stop this nonsense for good! You can't see Crowfeather, it's against the warrior code! He's a WindClan warrior! You're a medicine cat for StarClan's sake!" Leafpool stared at her mentor._

"_It's not fair, I have feelings too!" she protested. Cinderpelt nodded._

"_That's true, but you need to keep your feelings in check! Your coming back to Thunderclan whether I have to drag you there myself!" With that, Cinderpelt sprang at Leafpool, claws unsheathed. Crowfeather moved like a blur, ramming Cinderpelt away before turning to Leafpool. With unspoken agreement, the two cats ran. Then both ran as fast as they could, until they reached Moonpool. _

_Leafpool climbed the slope until she reached the glistening pool at the bottom. Leafpool laid down and lapped at the sparkling water. But Starclan did not come. Leafpool was running through the starlight forest, calling for Spottedleaf, but she did not see the past medicine cat. All she heard was an ominous voice._

"_You broke the code. You took a mate. You must leave as a punishment." Leafpool awoke with a start and ran back to Crowfeather. Tails twined, the two cats walked toward the far edge of WindClan territory, the unknown ahead of them._

* * *

It had been several more moons until Leafpool kits had been born. The birth was a tragedy. Maybe it was when Cinderpelt attacked her, she couldn't know. All she did know was that her kits were stillborn. It was hard for Crowfeather. From that point on, he became more distant. The rogue couple did not have their clans, they did not have a home, they did not have anything. They just kept wandering on and on.

"We'll find something better, you'll see." was Leafpool's optimistic answer when they lay down at night, finding no good place to sleep, and resorting to sleeping outside exposed to the elements. Crowfeather slowly stopped talking to Leafpool. When he did talk, it was usually to scold or lash out at her.

Then they found an old badger den, it was the best place they could find for miles. So the couple decided to stay there. Crowfeather slowly became more and more distant. Always he seemed to be in a bad mood. Leafpool would never forget the day he first hit her. It had been a dizzying blow that sent her sprawling. And Crowfeather showed no remorse.

As the day's went by, Crowfeather just became more and more abusive. Leafpool was forced to hunt, fetch water, and find bedding for Crowfeather. The tom was as cold and prickly as her bedding. Crowfeather no longer rubbed pelts with Leafpool, nor did they whisper sweet nothings to each other as they had once did.

Crowfeather would beat Leafpool many times everyday, often resulting in unconsciousness for the ex-medicine cat. Crowfeather got the badger den while Leafpool was forced to sleep outside in the cold, with nobody to sleep next to her and share the warmth, nobody to wake up to in the morning. Leafpool sat there, her body was frail and tired, and continued staring up at Silverpelt.

_So this is it, _Leafpool thought bitterly._ This is where it all ends. You gave up your family and friends, and for what? For nothing! You'll die out here. And you won't join Starclan. _Leafpool looked up at the silent sky again as hot tears streamed down her face. Her life was over. This is how she would spend every day for the rest of her life.

She would work her fur off every day until she slumped down exhausted, never to get up. Without a decent burial, she would just lie there and decay, her body rotted by the elements. Sobbing, Leafpool turned and sank down on her gorse bed, looking up at the silent sky, with no help or condolences from Starclan.

Maybe she would dream tonight about how Crowfeather was before they left the lake. Leafpool liked those dreams. She wished she could never wake up and stay with that Crowfeather forever. Sparing one more glance at the sky, her eyes shut and she drifted of to sleep.

**A.N.:Thanks for reading! Please review, this took a while to type! All reviewers get a Leafpool plushie! **


	2. Escape

**A.N.:Hey everybody! I've decided to make this story a two-shot. Please review! I don't have too much of an idea of how I'm going to do this, so if nothing comes to me as I type, forgive me if it's a little short. Happy reading!**

A muffled mew of protest escaped from Leafpool's throat as the cool early morning breeze swept around her thin body. The ex-medicine cat tried to ignore it and hang on to the escaping threads of her dream. She was dreaming about her and Crowfeather.

* * *

_Leafpool purred as the warm sunshine warmed her pelt, enveloping her in pleasure. At the curve of her belly, three tiny kits lay suckling for milk. There were two she-cats and a tom. The first she-kit had Crowfeather's dark coat and lean body, but she had Leafpool's amber eyes. The second she-cat looked identical to Leafpool. _

_The tom had a mixture of Leafpool's tabby coat and Crowfeather's dark one, with green eyes. Looking up from her small bundles, she saw Crowfeather enter the den with a fish clamped firmly in his jaws. Leafpool gasped with shock._

"_How did you manage to get a fish? You're no RiverClan cat!" Crowfeather purred with delight as he dropped the fish next to Leafpool._

"_Anything for you Leafpool. It's not that difficult once you get the hang of it. How are the kits?" Leafpool flicked the tom's ear with amusement._

"_They're growing like weeds. How do manage to find enough to feed them?" Crowfeather's only response was a purr as he took a bite from the fish before passing it over to Leafpool. Leafpool savored the test of the pink, tender meat. It was wonderful! Crowfeather never ceased to amaze her. _

_Whatever she wanted, he was able to catch. Excusing herself from the meal, the she-cat stepped outside to enjoy the newleaf air. The sun gleamed overhead and a crisp breeze blew gently across the moor. The couple had decided to raise their kits here, Leafpool began to love all the open space. It gave her a feeling of euphoria, like she could run forever._

_ Moving down the slope to a small stream, she lapped a the crystal clear water. Drinking her fill, she spun around quickly at the sound of a voice behind her. Leafpool relaxed as she saw it was only Crowfeather. Winding her tail with Crowfeather and pressing against his side, the couple proceeded to walk back up the slope. They paused as the entrance to the den was reached._

"_I love you so much Crowfeather," Leafpool meowed, breathing in his scent. Crowfeather's voice came next, but it wasn't what Leafpool expected to hear._

"_Leafpool! Get your lazy carcass up now!"_

* * *

Leafpool's eyes sprang open as a heavy blow smashed down on her ribs. The female feline yowled with shock and terror as blow after blow followed suit. Hauling her emaciated body up as quickly as she could, Leafpool immediately fell back down as Crowfeather's paw smashed the side of her head.

"What are you waiting for? Go get me something to eat!" Crowfeather snarled. Leafpool got up from her gorse nest and ran as fast as her damaged legs would carry her before sinking to the ground in exhaustion. Blinking through unshed tears, Leafpool pulled her self upright and moved along the grass, jaws stretched for the smell of fresh-kill.

Reaching the top of a hill, she looked down to see a particularly large rabbit nibbling at grass stalks. Almost picturing her teeth sinking into the rabbit meat, Leafpool stalked down the slope until she was within a few fox-lengths of the rabbit. Closer...closer...and...Leap!

Her paws hit empty ground as the rabbit bounded away. Screaming her bad luck aloud, Leafpool beat her head against the ground as she replayed the scene over and over in her mind. Pulling herself together, the medicine cat slowly got up and limped blindly in one direction. She soon gave up looking for prey as hot tears streamed down her face.

Leafpool wasn't thinking about anything in general, just how good her life had been before it slipped away. Pausing, the she-cat wiped away her tears with the back of her forepaw before looking around. Her eyes flew wide with horror as she the entrance of Crowfeather's den before her. She had never come back empty-pawed before! StarClan knows what Crowfeather would do to her!

Turning around, she limped away as fast as she could. She made it about ten steps. A black blur smashed into her side. Leafpool yowled in agony as she felt something snap. She had broken a rib. Crowfeather leered down at her.

"Come back with no prey? I'll teach you!" The tom sank his teeth roughly into Leafpool's scruff and began to drag her across the ground. Every bone in her body felt as if had been snapped into little pieces. She couldn't fight Crowfeather, he was to strong. Leafpool was so tired, she could barely move her head. After being dragged for awhile, Crowfeather paused. After glaring into Leafpool's eyes for a moment, he released her.

SPLASH!

Leafpool let out a gurgle as the stream carried her swiftly away. She tried as hard as she could without success to work her paws. She couldn't even take a gulp of air as the current pushed her under. Her last sight was of Crowfeather as the tom sat there on the bank, watching as the stream carried his past love to her death.

Leafpool's body screamed in pain. She desperately needed air. The current began to push her towards the surface, and the drowning she-cat's heart soared. She was going to live! Her dream was shattered as the current pushed her away from the surface and her last chance of life. As a tremor went through her body, Leafpool's vision began to darken. Not being able to stop it, a black wave covered her eyes.

_Maybe this won't be so bad, _Leafpool thought._ I'll be away from Crowfeather, I'll escape. It doesn't matter that I won't join StarClan. I'll be away, and that's good enough for me. _Leafpool's last thoughts went dark as her body shut down. The dead she-cat wore a peaceful smile, even in death. Clearing everything away from her mind, she floated off into the stars.

**A.N.:Man, that was depressing. Oh well. Don't forget to review! All reviewers get LeafpoolxCrowfeather plushie, when Crowfeather was nice. It's one plushie because their tails are sewn together. LeafxCrow rock! Again, review! Peace out! **


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